Hawaii basketball in prospect Lok Wur’s top five
There is a possibility a good recruiting month might become even better for the Hawaii basketball team.
After receiving signed 2019 commitments from Justin Webster and Bernardo da Silva, the Rainbow Warriors learned they are in the running for Lok Wur of Papillion-La Vista South High in Nebraska.
Wur tweeted he has narrowed his five choices to Creighton, Oregon, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech and Hawaii. VaTech and Oregon played in the NCAA Tournament, with the Ducks advancing to the Sweet 16, and Creighton was in the NIT.
Wur is 6 feet 9, 190 pounds, and can play all five spots. This past season, he averaged 20.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.
He received 34 scholarship offers before naming his five finalists.
The ‘Bows have one remaining scholarship available for the 2019 recruiting class.
Forever change the course of UH basketball as we know it.
It’s going to be tough prying him away from Oregon. I read somewhere that he and his family have a previous relationship with OU head coach Dana Altman. It likely stems from when Altman was the head coach at Creighton.
Stephen: I believe Wur’s tweet said 34 offers from D1 and JUCO combined. Still, it was an impressive list.
Do you know if the UH coaching staff had been in contact with Wur before he became D1eligible? If not, it’s curious how Hawaii suddenly rose to the top 5 after he was besieged by interest and offers from a number of P5 schools.
Clyde:
All I know is the coaches have emphasized that there is a plan in place, that they’ve never panicked during the recruiting process this year. They also have insisted that the school’s dates — the start of Summer Session II, the start of the fall semester — were the real deadlines, and not the signing period. I think they have plans if they land Wur, and backup plans if they don’t. They also have faith in the development of current players. We’ve seen that recently in the growth of Buggs and Raimo, etc.
I covered UH basketball for a lot of years, and then I didn’t cover the team for a lot of years, and now I’n back on it. So, my perspective is different from people who have been along for the entire ride. I’m sure people have different opinions. Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong, but I like the tempo and cuts of this offense, just like how I like certain NBA teams’ ball-screen games compared to the bully ball of the Knicks, Pistons and Heat of the 1990s.
Comments?
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Thank you. I googled Richard Washington. This guy was a big deal. The irony isn’t lost on me that I never got to see Hawaii at their most relevant. Do you have an explanation as to why there is no footage of the games they used to broadcast on KGMB? I have a vague memory of Hawaii edging Fordham and being really happy that Hawaii won their first game after starting the season 0-7. God only knows why that made me a fan for life.
The sixth team was Iowa. He chose Hawaii over Iowa. I read one of Wur’s friend’s tweets which told him that it’s time to get out of Omaha. So I’m thinking that maybe Hawaii has an edge over Creighton. Texas A & M is relatively close to Nebraska.
The three schools farthest from his hometown, obviously, are Virginia Tech, Oregon, and Hawaii. Geez. What an outlier Hawaii is. I don’t know what to think. Murray State had two blue-chippers in a relatively short period of time. You have Lilliard from the Big Sky. South Dakota State put a guy in the NBA. Lehigh. On his recruiting visit, we can point to Phil Handy with pride. By the way, the Raptors went 3-1 after I started wearing a dinosaur on my head.
Hawaii awaits
You are Wur the Warrior
Dreams really come true
It would have been Tom Henderson and Richard Washington on the same team. The connection was that Gary Gray came from Benson Tech the year prior, and his dad was the head coach there so it seemed a strong possibility that Washington would come too.
Hawaii beat out NC State for Tommy Barker the next year though. Barker was supposed to replace Tom Burleson and NC State was planning to repeat as national champs. Cappie, if you don’t know who Tim Stoddard is, look him up too. He was the power forward on those NC State teams.
If you look at the way this team is constructed (especially now when combined with the addition of Madut, Webster and Da Silva) it is so perfectly suited for an athletic wing scorer.Wur would be an unbelievable fit. But should he decide to go elsewhere the roster (from top to bottom) will still fit anyone of similar (albeit maybe not as “electric”) abilities. Imagine someone like Julian Sensley, ,Savo, Fotu or even Noah Allen in this rotation. Would be real good fit. That type of player is in the portal, Ganot just has to get that someone to notice the “fit” here. I trust plan, A or B. I trust it. Will be awesome.
Hoping and wishing we get Wur to come here. We need all the help we can get. Ganot needs to have a banner recruiting year.
young Wur should take an official visit before making a decision — Hawaii may just be the best option of where to live for the next 3-4 years — climate, people, fans, ocean/beaches, team mates, etc.
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